Masks (Stargate SG-1 story)
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Masks |
| Author(s): | Keiko Kirin |
| Date(s): | May–June |
| Length: | 1.8MB |
| Genre: | slash |
| Fandom: | Stargate SG-1 |
| External Links: | Masks [PDF] at Keiko Kirin's author page |
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Masks is a Jack/Daniel story by Keiko Kirin.
Author's note: Thanks to Thevetia for beta reading and helping out.
Reactions and Reviews
On an alien planet, Jack is given a mask to wear and wakes to find that he has lost most of a day to sleep. Daniel examines the mask back at the SGC and tries it on himself, waking much later to find that he too has lost time. Curious, he seeks answers from the highly advanced Laqasi, but he finds their answers elusive and incomprehensible.The beginning of this story reminded me vividly of the ballroom scene in the David Bowie film, "The Labyrinth", where the heroine is assaulted by the sight and sounds of masked people in a vast, glittering ballroom. Here, it is a masked Jack who encounters such a vibrant spectacle, and the author cleverly conveys this by the use of short, abrupt sentences that reflect the powerful, ambiguous and disjointed "reality" of the dream sequences. The writing is quite fragmented in these scenes and a little repetitive in places, but does convey the somewhat ethereal nature of Jack and Daniel's dreamlike experiences. It was this sense of mystery and intrigue, so cleverly depicted by the author,that captured my interest from the start.
The story is an intriguing mix of fantastical "dream" sequences that reflect the effects of the mask, and the more prosaic business of SG-1 performing their first contact duties with people they cannot readily comprehend or relate to. This results in a general sense of frustration that is felt by all of SG-1 and this, as well as the impenetrable nature of the Laqasi, is well illustrated. It is, however, first and foremost a story about Jack and Daniel's gradual acceptance of their mutual desire.
The characterisation and interaction of the team felt just right in the everyday sequences. However, the Jack and Daniel of the dream sequences seemed to lack any of the real sense of warmth and emotional connection to each other that we see in canon, and that we wish for even more of in this type of fan fiction.
"Masks" is a bewitching story: clever, and beautifully written. It drew me in from the start and did not disappoint me. I thoroughly recommend it.[1]